


Standing Still

by ywhiterain



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-03
Updated: 2011-01-03
Packaged: 2017-10-14 08:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/147547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ywhiterain/pseuds/ywhiterain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To catch snow in your tongue, you must stand still.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Standing Still

"If I leave," Rose told the Doctor. "Then it will be real." Her tears were warm and salty.

"Rose - "

She didn't look away from where the TARDIS had left. "And I'm not strong enough to do that again."

From behind her, the Doctor reached out and grabbed her hand. Squeezed it softly. "You are."

She turned around.

-

"Gonna catch a cold," Rose said as she watched the Doctor catch a snowflake on his tongue.

He grinned. "I don't think I've ever had one."

Rose rolled her eyes and walked over to him. She put his coat on. "Do you really want my Mum to take care of you?"

He looked at her. His eyes were the same as when they were blue. "The snow is real. I wanted that - " his voice caught in his throat and he looked away.

Rose thought about the other Doctor she still thought of as hers. "It snows in the other universe, too."

"But you have to stand still to feel it," the Doctor said.

-

When she dreams, she thinks about her Doctor. His eyes are cold and she cannot reach him.

She wakes up and finds she can only hope he doesn't die alone.

She wishes she'd been strong enough to need that sentence finished so much.

-

"I still need to teach you how to dance," Rose said.

The Doctor that smile that was warmer than ever. "I'm brilliant. Should be a fast learner."

Rose moved his hands to the correct location on her hips and rested her head on his chest. He smelled the same. His one heart beat steadily.

-

They don't get a mortgage. Instead, they travel the world together. Sometimes on missions for Torchwood, sometimes not.

The Doctor is endlessly fascinated with seeing the world change slowly. Rose can't bare to stand still.

-

"What are you doing?"

The Doctor didn't look up from what he was doing. "Gardening."

"Yeah?" Rose asked as she walked over to him. "Did my Mum rope you into it?"

The Doctor gently patted down the dirt and took out another flower from the box. "I offered. Never got around to doing it before. Kept meaning too."

"Too much to see and do, I suppose," Rose said. She knelt down next to him and watched him. It was the most amazing thing, seeing the acknowledgment that he helped something live on his face.

-

It comes out of the blue. Sometimes it's after they'd saved the world. Sometimes it's while they were taking a walk together. Sometimes it's when they weren't sure they were going to live to see the next day.

He will look at her and tell her that he loves her with his voice instead of his eyes.

-

"He wouldn't want you to think about him," the Doctor said to her as she looked at the ocean.

It wasn't Dårlig Ulv Stranden - Bad Wolf Bay. But it was a beach.

"I promised him forever," Rose said. She turned around. "You." She laughed. "That's always going to be a bit confusing, isn't it?"

He walked over to stand next to her. Tilted his head to to side to look at her. "Life needs to be a bit confusing, if you ask me. Keeps things interesting."

"I love you," she said. It was sudden. She hadn't told him that since their first goodbye. It was easy. It was the truth.

"Quite right, too." His voice was soft.

They watched the sun set together.


End file.
